It was reported as close to happening a few hours ago and now ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick says it’s done: Seth Smith, 32-year-old Padres outfielder, has been traded to the Mariners in a straight swap for 24-year-old right-handed reliever Brandon Maurer.

The Padres have made a flurry of moves in the past few days. It may help them win some more baseball games. But it will undeniably fire up a fan base that has had nothing to get excited about for years.

Joe Kelly gave his old mates fits. Well, maybe he gave them fits before too. Maybe they weren’t his mates. Maybe there were long-simmering disputes between him and the Cardinals about politics and religion and things. We can’t know!

Apparently not having an actual general manager following the firing of Josh Byrnes isn’t stopping the Padres from making significant moves, as the team announced that they’ve agreed to a two-year, $13 million contract extension with outfielder Seth Smith.

Padres 3, Dodgers 1: The coolest thing about baseball is that all of us yakkers can spend two months talking about teams’ strengths and weaknesses and How It Will All Go, and then the games start and none of it matters one damn bit. Like the back end of the Dodgers’ bullpen, for example. Brian…

Between now and Opening Day, HardballTalk will take a look at each of baseball’s 30 teams, asking the key questions, the not-so-key questions, and generally breaking down their chances for the 2014 season. Next up: The San Diego Padres The Big Question: Can the Padres stay healthy enough to surprise? The last two years with…

Interesting news out of Dodgers camp, as 17-year-old Julio Urias is starting this afternoon’s Cactus League game against the Padres. Just to put things into perspective, he was born in August of 1996, less than two months after Tommy Lasorda managed his final game in Dodger Blue. Feeling old yet? Urias, a native of Mexico,…

It was originally thought that Padres outfielder Cameron Maybin would be lost for 2-3 months after he suffered a torn left biceps tendon while making a diving catch Sunday, but there’s a chance he could be back sooner. According to Corey Brock of MLB.com, Padres general manager Josh Byrnes said that Maybin opted against surgery…

The Padres’ sleeper status in the NL West has already taken a hit: center fielder Cameron Maybin will miss 2-3 months with a ruptured biceps tendon he suffered making a diving catch in Sunday’s game. The injury comes after Maybin was limited to 14 games last season with wrist and knee injuries. So, the Padres…